The present invention is directed to an apparatus for non-contacting disintegrations of a concretion situated in a body of a life form. The apparatus includes a shock wave generator which can have its shock waves focussed or concentrated at an isocenter and the generator is aligned with the isocenter being on the target region in the body. The generator has an arrangement for transferring the energy created by the shock wave generator to the body which arrangement includes a chamber having at least one flexible wall being filled with a coupling agent.
An apparatus with a shock wave generator is employed for example in medicine for disintegrating a renal calculi. Since the apparatus avoids any and all surgical intervention into the body, they are particularly advantageous.
An apparatus having a shock wave generator which concentrates the shock wave on an isocenter and has a container with at least one flexible wall to form means for transferring the shock waves between the generator and a body is disclosed in copending U.S. application, Ser. No. 634,021, filed July 24, 1984 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,505 which issued on June 23, 1987 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,505 and claims priorty from German OS 33 28 051. The shock wave generator of this copending application is placed with flexible wall lying against the life form. The shock waves are focused onto a focal point such as the isocenter in the target region. It is therefore necessary to position the life form with reference to the shock wave generator so that the concretion which is to be disintegrated will lie precisely in the target region at this focal point or isocenter.